A round-up of today's other stories in brief...
Renault to offer Kangoo ZE as commercial vehicle
RENAULT HAS confirmed that its Kangoo ZE all-electric minivan – also sold as a commercial vehicle – will arrive on Irish forecourts by November 1st.
The Kangoo will be sold to customers directly, but the battery pack will only be leased at a cost of €72 per month (ex VAT). That works out at an annual cost of €1,045 a year for private buyers when VAT is taken into account.
While the five-seater passenger version will be on sale here, the majority of Irish sales are expected to be for the van version by businesses eager to portray a more eco-friendly image.
Renault Credit, the car firm’s own bank, will offer initial finance on the vehicle. It will also offer the lease deal on the battery, together with a service and maintenance contract.
The van version will retail from €20,000 (ex VAT) with the passenger version selling for just under €27,000. Eric Bassett, managing director of Renault Ireland said the purchase price without battery is equivalent to that of a diesel vehicle in the same class.
The Kangoo is the first of a range of electric vehicles from Renault, and is due to be followed up by the Fluence ZE and the ZOE, a Clio-sized electric supermini. Both are due early next year.
Triumph across four provinces
To mark the 25th anniversary of the Triumph Classic Owners Club (TCOC), the club is organising a ”Four provinces in a classic drive” this September in aid of the first children’s hospice in Ireland, which the Childrens Sunshine Home and LauraLynn Foundation are due to open later this year. As the name implies, the trip will visit the four provinces over four days. Starting out from Dublin on September 16th, the convoy of 40 cars will travel to Cobh, to Spiddal on the 17th, to Ballyshannon on the 18th and arriving back in Dublin on the evening of Monday the 19th.
New VW Ireland chief
VW GROUP Ireland is to get a new managing director, with Simon Elliot, currently director of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles in the UK to take up the position. Elliot takes over from Paul Willis, who is taking up a senior role with the VW Group in China. Willis has been in charge of VW Group Ireland since 2008.